TROY, Ala. – Kaleb Barker threw for two scores while DK Billingsley rushed for 100 yards to help lead Troy to a 37-13 Sun Belt Conference football victory over the University of South Alabama in the annual "Battle For The Belt" Wednesday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Baker finished 20-of-30 passing for 194 yards in guiding an offense that posted 432 total yards as the Trojans improved to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the league.  Both Carlton Martial and Justin Whisenhunt recorded 10 stops for a Troy defense that limited the Jaguars (1-6, 0-3 Sun Belt) to 274 total yards and three points after halftime.

Riley Cole and Kelvin Johnson were credited with 11 and 10 stops, respectively, while Travis Reed intercepted a pair of passes to lead South's defense.  Tra Minter posted 200 all-purpose yards for the Jags, with that total including 86 on the ground and 36 on six receptions.

Troy 37, South Alabama 13 (final stats)
South Alabama/Troy photo gallery

GAME FACTS
-The score was tied at the end of the first quarter after both teams put together drives of 10-plus plays resulting in field goals, with Troy going up 3-0 when Tyler Sumpter connected from 31 yards out before Frankie Onate answered with a 17-yard effort just over five minutes later.
-The Trojans led 16-10 at the break after Sumpter hit field goals from 22 and 29 yards in the final 68 seconds of the second quarter.
-Troy converted 5-of-10 third downs while ending the half with a 233-113 advantage in total offense.
-A touchdown capping the Trojans' opening possession of the second half — which covered 87 yards in 10 plays — extended their advantage to 13 points, although the Jags turned Reed's second interception into a 31-yard Onate field goal with just under three minutes to go in the period.
-Troy closed out the scoring with a pair of touchdowns in the final quarter as Will Sunderland returned an interception 29 yards and Trevon Woolfolk added a four-yard run with a little over four minutes remaining in the contest.
-Both offenses recorded 20-plus first downs while each defense created three turnovers.

NOTES
-The Trojans now hold a 5-3 advantage in the all-time series.
-It's the first time either school has won in back-to-back years since South accomplished the feat in 2014 and '15, while it marked the first time the home team has claimed the "Belt" since the prize was created in 2015.
-Reed became the first individual in the program with two or more interceptions in a game since Jalen Thompson picked off two passes in a win over Texas State on Sept. 15 last fall.
-Cole tied his previous career high — first set at Ole Miss in the 2017 opener — with his eighth stop on the opening play of the second quarter, going on to lead the team in the category for the first time since that night as well.
-Minter ended the contest with a career-high catch total, and after posting a season-best 78 yards returning kicks he went over 1,000 yards for his career in the category.
-It was the second time this season that Minter has recorded 200-plus all-purpose yards.
-Johnson became the first South defender to finish with 10 or more tackles in consecutive outings since Bull Barge accomplished the feat in three straight games from Oct. 23-Nov. 10 last fall after matching his career high set last time out against Georgia Southern.
-After leading the team with nine rushing touchdowns last season, Kawaan Baker's three-yard run that tied the score in the second quarter was his first of the year; it was the 10th of his career, making him sixth player in school history to reach double figures in the category.
-A.J. DeShazor equaled his previous best — set at Memphis on Sept. 22 a year ago — after making eight stops, while his fumble recovery that led to Baker's score was his second of the season.
-Davyn Flenord finished with career-high totals after catching four passes for 33 yards.
-Onate connected on multiple field goals for the first time in his career.

THEY SAID IT
South Alabama head coach Steve Campbell
Opening statement: "I'm very disappointed in the loss. I thought the kids gave a good effort, but we obviously came up short in a game like this. We need to go back to work, keep improving and find a way to win a game like this; we had opportunities."
On what was the difference in the game: "They [Troy] made some plays. We had some opportunities to make some plays and we weren't quite able to make them."
On what he told the team in the locker room after the loss: "We need to make a few more plays, we talked about what we could've done better. There are some calls I wish I could have made differently, and there are some things that we can definitely do better to put ourselves in a position to win. This game hurts and those players in the locker room are hurting. Let's get back to work. No defeat is ever final and no victory is ever final; you have to get back and get to work, and we have some things we need to work on."
On if the defensive performance was good enough to win: "It was close. I thought yardage wise we did alright. Troy is averaging a bunch of yards and I believe we held them to right at 400. When you say you held them to that number, it doesn't sound good, but they've had 500 yards in a couple of games this year. We needed to force a couple more punts. We made them take the long field. Travis Reed got a couple of turnovers himself. We were able to hold them to a couple of field goals in the red zone. If we don't give up the pick-six, it's a different game. Our offense had a couple of chances to get some touchdowns in the red zone and didn't or this could have been a different game. The game just comes down to red zone and turnovers. Defensively, I felt we gave ourselves a half-a-chance to win."

Senior RB Tra Minter
On the game: "It was a tough, hard-fought loss obviously. We did a lot of good things, but offensively we just need to do a better job of finishing [drives]."
On the mood in the locker room after the game: "We knew we had the chance to make more plays and penalties killed us a little bit. Offensively, we have to put the ball in the end zone. We were in the red zone three times and we have to be able to finish."
On being unable to capitalize on short-yardage plays near the goal line: "We probably could have run the ball outside a little bit more, but the coaches made good play calls. We just need to execute them as players."
On how the team keeps their spirits high after this tough loss: "We just need to keep going forward and keep pushing. Just keep a good mind-set."

Senior CB Travis Reed
On the defensive effort early and whether they got worn down late in the game: "Our main focus is to keep fighting. We were out there for a long time and Troy was able to start running the ball on us."
On making big plays defensively: "We just need to keep getting takeaways and give our offense chances to score. We need to get the ball in their hands more."
On how the team rebounds from this game: "Just keep playing. We need to just show up at practice every day with the same attitude. You have to persevere through everything. We can't be quitters."

Up next: South returns to action when it plays host to Appalachian State — ranked 24th in both the Associated Press and Coaches' polls entering its game this weekend against ULM — on Saturday, Oct. 26, with the Jaguars' annual Homecoming contest slated to be broadcast nationally on ESPNU at 11 a.m. (CDT).

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics.  Contributions to South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give

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